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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Tourist arrivals on the rise

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MUSCAT, MAY 12 - Tourist arrivals in Oman continue to grow with a significant rise of 24.6 per cent in March 2018 compared to the same month in the previous year. According to a report by National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), 371,000 visitors arrived in the Sultanate in March this year against 298,000 during the same period last year. “Gulf visitors topped the list with a total number of 128,000 visitors forming massive 34.5 per cent during the month followed by German, Indian and British nationals with 12.5 per cent, 9 per cent and 6.3 per cent, respectively,” said the report.


Cruise tourism also witnessed a significant growth during the period with 40,000 visitors arriving in the Sultanate from different countries. Of the total number of visitors, Europeans formed a massive 88.7 per cent, with the largest number hailing from Germany, said the report. At the same time, the number of people departing the Sultanate witnessed an increase of 8.5 per cent in March 2018 compared to the same month last year. Omanis formed a mammoth 60.7 per cent of the total visitors departed Oman during the month.


A report by Arabian Travel Market 2018 already said that tourism arrivals will witness an increase at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13 per cent between 2018 and 2021. Accommodating the predicted influx, a number of major hotel chains have recently announced properties in Muscat, driving the 12 per cent CAGR over the next three years; from 10,924 rooms in 2017 to 16,866 in 2021.


Leading domestic investor, Oman Hotels and Tourism, has committed to building 10 hotels across the country with a projected value of $260 million by 2021. Meanwhile, revenues from three- to five-star hotels reached RO 23 million during March, with an increase of 16 per cent, compared to RO 20.1 million in the same month last year. The total number of guests at the hotels reached 153,000, with a total occupancy level of 73.9 per cent compared to 68.5 per cent.


SAMUEL KUTTY


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